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Academics

On Wednesday night, I got to meet the latest crop of Heritage Scholars. All the freshmen and some of the upperclassmen gathered in Blatchley, divided into teams, and set off on a photo scavenger hunt across campus with the goal of getting as many photo items as possible while getting to know our group. I was on a team with two freshmen, Colton and Demir, and a Russell, a junior.

Fall semester is among us!

Unpacking and getting class-ready have consumed my first week on campus, and after my first couple days of classes, I feel like I'm already back in the college routine. It seriously feels like I never left for the summer! It has been sooooo nice to catch up with friends on campus, and it is great to see new faces on campus too. Here is a brief synopsis of my week back in Caldwell...

My time at The College has given me a lot of things. It's fostered many passions, advised simultaneous skepticism and open-thinking, and granted me chances for both exploration and (just as necessary) failure. All of these things, while granting me many different types of knowledge, have given me a special window to learn about my personal growth.

So the first week has ended (a very short week, mind you) and already I have been assigned an abundance of reading from my professors, attended a rave and harvested some succulent melons from the garden. Not much has changed on the homework front but looking around campus, I can tell that my last year at C of I will not be dull. Changes have been made to the McCain Cafe, such as the introduction of plates and cutlery (not just paper plates.) This greatly pleases me as it means that we will now be reusing plates instead of sending scores of paper plates and to-go boxes into the dump.

So recently, my fellow blogger Andrew posted on the Facebook student blogger group that we should do a profile on our favorite professors. I replied immediately with something that sounded apt, but in retrospect, was an unfortunate metaphor. I replied “ON IT LIKE A DOG ON PEANUT BUTTER”. I have strange moods sometimes.

It all starts with an essay. I'm not an admissions counselor, so I'm not sure how much it figures into the acceptance process, but we all begin our college careers with an entrance essay. There's a different topic every year, but ultimately it's supposed to tell the school something about ourselves. From Junior High, up to our Senior year in High School, we're given framework and guidance on this elusive and complex skill. And then, in our freshman year of college, we're asked to start over.

So recently I have developed a new hobby. It is surprising what 3 months of no school will do to you. I am all for weeding my garden and taking care of chickens, but that isn't enough to keep me occupied. I started off with frolf, and also started taking panoramic photographs, some of which have been posted on this blog before. (I think a hobby is necessary because it helps keep your mind fresh, and ready for such stuff as work.) Recently I started doing two more things. I picked up Go, which is an old Asian board game. I like to think of it as chess, but on amphetamines.

I’ve been getting advice about college since the weeks leading up to my high school graduation. A lot of advice. I've yet to experience any of it, but here are some of the most common and most interesting things I’ve heard from wise minds:

It’s mid-July, and school won't start for another month and a half. But in the spirit of speeding up the clock and getting started, I’ve ordered my textbooks and am watching them slowly appear in boxes and padded envelopes on my doorstep.